COURT CRIMINAL CHARGES ATTORNEYS IN BOULDER, CO
Court – Criminal Charges
If you are charged with DUI or DWAI, you are facing allegations that you committed a crime. This is a completely separate matter than what occurs with your driver’s license at the DMV. It is important to see a lawyer soon after your arrest so that the lawyer can obtain all of the facts from you while they are still fresh in your mind. Writing out the facts yourself might be useful, but you might not think of certain facts that are important to your case.
In the court proceeding, your lawyer may be able to take care of the first court appearance without your presence and arrange to discuss the case with the prosecutor to which it is assigned. An experienced lawyer, like those at Miller & Harrison LLC, can identify the issues that will make a difference in the outcome of your case. Your Miller & Harrison lawyer can advocate for you with the prosecutor and attempt to resolve the case in your favor prior to the uncertainty and expense of a jury trial. However, if the case cannot be resolved satisfactorily, your lawyer must be ready, willing, and able to proceed to jury trial, as the lawyers at Miller & Harrison, LLC always are.
DUI/DWAI charges are complex cases involving facts, law and “science.” The prosecutors often call “experts” to discuss the impact of alcohol or drugs on a person’s ability to drive safely. If this testimony is not effectively countered, the case may not go well. Therefore, it is important to hire a lawyer who is experienced in DUI/DWAI cases – not a lawyer who only occasionally does such cases. The lawyers at Miller & Harrison, LLC handle many DUI/DWAI cases every year and stay current on the law and science involved in such cases.
Note: Just because you have a prescription and are taking a drug – including medical marijuana – as prescribed, it is still possible to be charged with DUI or DWAI if the officer alleges the drug was affecting your ability to safely drive your car.
IN SHORT, the best approach is to contact an attorney as soon as possible for specific legal advice on the handling of your case. Some lawyers do these consultations for free, but at Miller & Harrison, LLC we charge a small fee for the consultation so we can properly advise you on your case – including legal advice on what to do should you decide to try to handle the case yourself (and in some cases it may be appropriate to handle it yourself).
DUI Case Study:
Situation: One evening, a client drove off from a wedding reception in Longmont where he had been drinking. He was heading west out of town when he was stopped by the city police for driving without his headlights on, and was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence.
Our approach: Upon investigating the case, Miller & Harrison, LLC ascertained that the client was pulled over outside Longmont city limits and outside the jurisdiction of city police.
Results: The court found the arresting officer’s actions to be improper, and refused to let the prosecution use any evidence given by the officer (including his observations of the driver) at trial. The drunken driving charges were entirely dismissed.